Devices, Systems, and Methods for Analyzing Measurement Objects

Abstract

A device for analyzing a sample includes a measurement area at which the sample is to be located, an illumination arrangement, and first and second spectral sensors. The illumination arrangement illuminates the measurement area such that the illumination is incident on the sample. Each of the first and second spectral sensors is oriented toward the measurement area to collect illumination arriving from the measurement area. The first spectral sensor performs a spectral measurement of the sample in response to the incident illumination so as to produce spectral measurement data. The second spectral sensor measures background noise so as to produce background measurement data that provides at least a partial correction for noise in the spectral measurement data. In certain embodiments, operation of the first and second spectral sensors is switched such that the second spectral sensor performs a spectral measurement and the first spectral sensor measures background noise.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A hand-held device for analyzing a sample, the hand-held device comprising:
 an interface surface that provides an interface between the hand-held device and the sample;   a measurement area at which the sample is to be located and forming part of the interface surface;   a body member; and   a set of components housed within the body member in compact form, the set of internal components including:
 a printed circuit board (PCB), 
 a support arrangement attached to the PCB, 
 an illumination arrangement mounted to the support arrangement and including at least one illumination source for illuminating the measurement area with illumination such that the illumination is incident on the sample, and 
 a spectral sensing arrangement including:
 a first spectral sensor mounted to a first part of the support arrangement and configured to perform a spectral measurement of the sample in response to the incident illumination so as to produce first spectral measurement data, and 
 a second spectral sensor mounted to a second part of the support arrangement and configured to perform a spectral measurement of the sample in response to the incident illumination so as to produce second spectral measurement data, 
 
   wherein the illumination arrangement and the spectral sensing arrangement are mounted to the PCB via the support arrangement such that the illumination arrangement and the spectral sensing arrangement are interposed between the PCB and the interface surface, and   wherein the first and second parts of the support arrangement are angulated such that each of the first and second spectral sensors is oriented toward the measurement area so as to collect illumination arriving from the measurement area.   
     
     
         2 . The hand-held device of  claim 1 , wherein the first spectral sensor is sensitive to illumination in a first range of wavelengths, and wherein the second spectral sensor is sensitive to illumination in a second range of wavelength. 
     
     
         3 . The hand-held device of  claim 2 , wherein the first range of wavelengths is non-overlapping with the second range of wavelengths. 
     
     
         4 . The hand-held device of  claim 2 , wherein the first range of wavelengths is partially overlapping with the second range of wavelengths. 
     
     
         5 . The hand-held device of  claim 1 , wherein the first spectral sensor has an associated first field of view (FOV) and the second spectral sensor has an associated second FOV, wherein a measure of the FOV of the first spectral sensor is approximately equal to a measure of the FOV of the second spectral sensor, wherein the first FOV and second FOV are in overlapping relation with each other, and wherein the first and second spectral sensors are oriented such that the measurement area falls within the first FOV and the second FOV. 
     
     
         6 . The hand-held device of  claim 5 , wherein the illumination arrangement has an associated illumination field and is oriented such that the measurement area falls within the illumination field and such that the illumination field is in overlapping relation with the first FOV and the second FOV, and wherein each of the first FOV and the second FOV is less than the illumination field. 
     
     
         7 . The hand-held device of  claim 1 , wherein the first spectral sensor has an associated first field of view (FOV) and the second spectral sensor has an associated second FOV that is approximately equal to the first FOV, and wherein the first and second spectral sensors are symmetrically oriented about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the measurement area such that the measurement area falls within the first FOV and the second FOV. 
     
     
         8 . The hand-held device of  claim 1 , wherein the measurement area is transmissive to the illumination from the illumination arrangement. 
     
     
         9 . The hand-held device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one illumination source includes a first illumination source and a second illumination source. 
     
     
         10 . The hand-held device of  claim 9 , wherein the illumination arrangement and the spectral sensing arrangement are mounted to the PCB via the support arrangement such that the first and second illumination sources and the first and second spectral sensors are deployed in spaced relation about a central axis that is perpendicular to the interface surface. 
     
     
         11 . The hand-held device of  claim 10 , wherein the first and second illumination sources and the first and second spectral sensors are deployed about the central axis so as to be equally radially spaced from the central axis. 
     
     
         12 . The hand-held device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one illumination source comprises a broad-spectrum light source operative to produce illumination covering a wide range of wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. 
     
     
         13 . The hand-held device of  claim 1 , wherein the first spectral sensor and the second spectral sensor are configured to operate simultaneously during a same measurement period, wherein the first spectral sensor performs a spectral measurement of the sample to produce the first spectral measurement data, and the second spectral sensor performs a spectral measurement of the sample to produce the second spectral measurement data. 
     
     
         14 . The hand-held device of  claim 1 , further comprising a processing unit configured to combine the first spectral measurement data and the second spectral measurement data to produce fused spectral data of the sample. 
     
     
         15 . The hand-held device of  claim 1 , further comprising a cover member, wherein the measurement area and the interface surface form at least part of the cover member. 
     
     
         16 . The hand-held device of  claim 15 , wherein the cover member encloses the set of components within the body member. 
     
     
         17 . The hand-held device of  claim 15 , wherein each of the interface surface and the cover member has an associated area, and wherein the area of the interface surface occupies a minority proportion of the area of the cover member. 
     
     
         18 . A system for analyzing a sample, the system comprising:
 the hand-held device of  claim 1 ; and   a processing subsystem associated with the spectral sensing arrangement and configured to combine the first spectral measurement data and the second spectral measurement data to produce fused spectral data of the sample.